Lee Heidhues 4.29.2023
Russian dictator and warmonger Vladimir Putin may be a pariah in Europe and the United States as he continues his war of aggression against Ukraine.
The former KGB operative and now strongman in Russia can count on at least one set of friends.
The Russian biker community of Night Wolves with their black attire and heavy duty motorcycles.
This group of Putin bikers intends to drive the roads between Moscow and Berlin with a detour through the war torn Donbas region of eastern Ukraine. That’s how Putin waves the Russian flag to his captive audience back home.
Moscow Times 4.29.2023
Hundreds of Kremlin-loyal bikers under the banner of the Night Wolves motorcycle club took to the streets of Moscow on Saturday for a “patriotic” rally across Europe.
The motorcade headed by club founder and leader Alexander Zaldastanov, known as “The Surgeon,” aims to complete the rally in Berlin by May 9.
Zaldastanov, who has described himself as a “friend” of Russian President Vladimir Putin, is under Western sanctions for his support for the annexation of Crimea by Russia in 2014 and the Russian offensive in Ukraine.
In May 2015, he was banned from entering Poland, where he wanted to organize “a motorcycle victory rally” across Europe. The ban had provoked the ire of Russian diplomacy
Several participants at the rally waved Russian and Soviet flags. Some had the letter “Z” fixed to their bikes — a symbol of Russia’s “special military operation” in Ukraine launched in February 2022.
Dubbed “the roads of victory,” the rally adopted the traditional slogan of the Russian offensive in Ukraine: “We do not let down our own.”
According to organizers, the motorcade plans to reach by May 1 the city of Volgograd, formerly Stalingrad, the site of a bloody battle between Soviet and German Nazi troops that marked a turning point in World War II toward victory for the Soviet Union and its allies.
The bikers will continue their journey to the Donbas region in eastern Ukraine, the scene of heavy fighting, where they will distribute humanitarian aid to civilians and Russian soldiers.
“The inhabitants of the Donbas and us, we are the same people,” 34-year-old Artyom told AFP before embarking on the race.
Hundreds of Kremlin-loyal bikers under the banner of the Night Wolves motorcycle club took to the streets of Moscow on Saturday for a “patriotic” rally across Europe.
Several participants at the rally waved Russian and Soviet flags. Some had the letter “Z” fixed to their bikes — a symbol of Russia’s “special military operation” in Ukraine launched in February 2022.
Top Photo – Vladimir Putin and Night Wolves leader Alexander Zaldastanov, known as “The Surgeon”
https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2023/04/29/pro-putin-bikers-launch-rally-bound-for-berlin-a80988
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